In a divorce case of Belittchenko v. Belitchenko, Justice Backhouse ordered that the pleadings to previous orders in their divorce proceedings will be struck down unless Anatoliy Belittchenko travels to Ontario to be questioned about the matter. Justice Backhouse stated in his ruling that the respondents, Antoliy and Neonil Belittchenko are a married couple of considerable means and that they have been acting inexcusably in the proceedings perhaps in an attempt to wear down the applicant wife, Natalia Belitchenko.
In this ruling, Justice Backhouse raises credibility issues against Anatoliy and Neonil Belittchenko. The justice indicates that numerous attempts to resolve this case have been made but the respondents repeatedly fail to respond to questions regarding the case, regardless of their considerable means to do so. Justice Backhouse ordered the respondents to travel to Ontario for questioning and for the applicant wife to have 20 days after that to respond to the respondents’ answer.
Divorce Act
One of the major aspects of divorce acts and the Ontario Family Law is the matter of spousal support. Spousal support is financial payments made from one spouse to the other when one spouse earns more money than the other. The spouse who earns more money typically agrees to or is ordered to pay the former spouse regular payments to help the lower-earning spouse with living expenses while getting back on his or her feet.
Determining how much in spousal support payments is paid is a complex art. When a court is considering a spousal support amount, it will look at any or all of the following:
- Both spouses’ income
- Both spouses’ assets
- The ages and health status of both spouses
- Both spouses’ abilities to be self-sufficient
- The couple’s standard of living
- The contribution both spouses made to each other’s careers
- Length of marriage
Separation Agreements
Separation agreements sometimes include information about the length of time one party or the other must pay spousal support. But they also may not. A court often does not, in fact, outline an exact number of months that one spouse must pay such support.
At any time, however, either party may request changes to the spousal support payment plan. When this occurs, the court once again reviews earnings and financial statements of both parties to determine whether the changes should indeed be ordered.